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*Brian Wilcox. "the Way & transient appearances". Flickr.
By an unescapable spiritual gravitation the best things in the universe belong to open-hearted, open-windowed souls.
*Rufus Matthew Jones. The Inner Life.
I suspect you have had moments when your world opened up and you felt completely resolved and free. You may have encountered such occurrences while engaging a spiritual practice, while listening to an inspiring piece of music, or while walking alone in the mountains after a snowfall. Sometimes insight and confidence can surprise you in the midst of a crisis, stirring you awake from the core of your being. At other times, a brief encounter with a stranger on the subway might be all it takes to shake you out of the tired and familiar world you live in. And you may, for a while, find yourself moving playfully through life without fear. ... You may notice that in such instances your habitual mind relaxes, allowing you to enjoy the rich, dynamic energy of life. You may call this a religious experience, but also a deeply human one. You might even call it grace.
*Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel. The Logic of Faith: A Buddhist Approach to Finding Certainty Beyond Belief and Doubt.
* * *
Moments can soften us,
where Grace, like a light,
illumines the dark,
warms the cold,
frees the frozen.
Something unseen, subtly felt, moves,
creating a fresh openness.
We feel a shift
inwardly, inexplicable.
* * *
One moment like this, came to me after leaving the bank. I lived in South Florida, was working part-time as a chaplain in a jail, and living off a small salary, paycheck to paycheck, some 800 dollars a month. I was given, due to the sympathies of a benefactor who respected me highly for my work with inmates, a small room to live in, with my two large dogs, at a reduced rent. The room was in a recovery house, with alcohol and drug addicts, though I was not in recovery myself.
I left the bank despondent. I had spent almost all my funds for the month, and I did not know how I would survive financially until the next paycheck. After leaving, what I can best call an inner voice, arose within me. I would translate the message, "It is all going to be okay."
With this inner assurance, and without questioning it, only receiving, my whole being relaxed. I spoke to a friend, shortly afterward, about this, rejoicing at the assurance. And to her, and to this day, I cannot explain what happened, only that it did and with ease I trusted and all was well, immediately.
No, in that moment the lack of funds did not go away; yet, the problem was gone. See, the lack of funds was not a problem, not in itself. If it had been a problem it itself, the problem would not have dissolved with the coming of and trust in the inner assurance, the voice. The apparent problem was over the moment the voice was received as truth.
Also, the voice arising and its reception inwardly, with the assurance felt, were one. I mean, there was no sense of separation in this gift.
Continued... |
